Chestnut Nature Park lays north of Bukit Timah Hill, less than 1km away. The park skirts the western side of the Central Catchment Nature Reserve, buffering the latter from the Bukit Timah Expressway.
There are two sections in Chestnut Nature Park – Chestnut Nature Park (South) and Chestnut Nature Park (North) with a combined area of 81 hectares.
Chestnut Nature Park (North) is bigger at about 64 hectares and is covered with luxurious canopies. In contrast, the open skies embrace the Chestnut Nature Park (South), and its trail is reportedly trickier.
Chestnut Nature Park is slightly different from the other nature parks, because other than the usual bird-watching and hiking, cycling enthusiasts can also enjoy mountain cycling in the bike park, barreling over rock paths without worrying about colliding into hikers.
To minimise unfortunate accidents from happening, Npark has designed designated trails for bikers and hikers.
A Variety of Trails to Take in Chestnut Nature Park
Hiking Trails
There are 3 hiking trails to try out in Chestnut Nature Park. In the Northern Park, there are 2 trails, a red trail (looped) that is 1.5km long and the orange one that is 2km long.
However as the orange trail is not a looped trail, the total distance to and fro is 4km if you need to collect your vehicle at the starting point.
The Southern Park has a sole 2.1km long trail, marked in yellow. If you trek on the orange trail, you can find an intersection that connects you directly to the Southern park via this yellow trail.
Check out the Npark maps here. Northern Trail; Southern Trail
Biking Trails
Whereas for biking trails in the Chestnut Nature Park, there are 3 options to choose from too.
8.2 km mountain biking trails that features varying levels of difficulty, from easy, moderately difficult, very difficult and extremely difficult.
Click on these links for Northern Biking Trail and Southern Biking Trail.
The Chestnut Pump Track which is easily accessible from the carpark is super fun for riders of all skill levels. Its circuit of banked turns and pumps provides opportunities for riders to practise and advance their cycling techniques within a controlled environment. There are also varying difficulty in the subsections.
Npark advises bikers to wear their safety gears all times.
Seasoned mountain bikers will love the Chestnut Bike Park, which hosts technical features, such as drop-offs and jumps for technique practices. It consists of four progressive skills lines and a skills area.
Wearing the appropriate safety gear is a must in the Bike Park too.
Locating the Right Trail
As first-timers in the Chestnut Nature Park, we were awfully confused with the starting point. Our intention was to try out the red trail, which is the shortest.
However, due to our own confusion, we ended up walking the longest trail, that is the orange one.
So in case you are a first-timer like us, note the following directions.
Standing in front of the washroom and facing it, proceed to your right then turn left for the yellow and orange trails. To get to the Southern Trail, cross the road when you see one. You will see the starting point of the Southern Trail (yellow) in front of you.
To get to the red trail, proceed to the left where the carpark is. Turn right and walk straight away. You will first reach the pump track. Walk further up to find the red track.
The Orange Trail
Sharing our experience on the orange trail in the Chestnut Nature Park, Northen Trail.
You won’t miss this stone signal on your right as you drive into the carpark. Well, we missed out. 🤭
We entered the park on a weekday morning to avoid the crowd, and indeed, we only saw a couple of hikers and bikers inside the forest. Walking in two in the forest wasn’t hard to achieve too, given that the dirt tracks are pretty narrow.
Do check on the crowd status via the Npark link here before embarking on your journey and scan on the Safe Entry QR code to keep yourself updated on any development.
The trail started off as a tarred path, but gradually turned into a dirt path as we journeyed deep into the park. The dirt course was slightly muddy in a couple of sections, and rocky in some others.
Given that we have two 4-year-olds with us, we kept our pace relaxed. We instructed the little ones not to run on the trails that are filled with tangled roots and slippery rocks.
The Northern Trail is indeed very well shaded.
We made the Observatory Tower our rest point, where we had then clocked around 1.75km. An awesome view of the canopy glittering in the sun was the pay-off.
If we did not bring the kids with us, we would have indulged in bird-watching under the cloud-flecked sky.
According to Npark, we can potentially catch sight of globally threatened species such as the Straw-headed Bulbul and the Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher in the Chestnut Nature Park, as well as more common species such as the Banded Woodpecker, Orange-bellied Flowerpecker and Little Spiderhunter.
A borrowed picture of the Little Spiderhut
We also had the opportunity to observe a number of forest animals foraging for food.
Special mention is the Lesser Mousedeer, an animal with a rodent-looking face but a rabbit body that is supported by pencil-thin hoofed legs. The Lesser Mousedeer is listed as critically endangered in Singapore.
Our Highlight of the Trip
Yet, the highlight of our trip was an encounter with an aggressive Long-Tailed Macaque.
It stood guard right in the middle of the pavement, glaring straight into our eyes. As it showed signs of aggression whenever we tried to move forward, we remained in a deadlock for probably 5 dreadful minutes.
While my hubby and the 4yos managed to walk by the monkey and make their way forward, the primate remained fixated on the rest of us.
We scrambled ahead and ended up with a screech and a dash to get away from the hostile animal. In hindsight, I believe the monkey probably mistook my camera for food and was almost ready to battle for it.
In case you wish to try out the biking trail and yet bring a bike to the Chestnut Nature Park is not exactly convenient for you, you will be happy to know that there is a bicycle rental shop right at the washing facility. Do call to check for availability before you make your way there to avoid disappointment.
Prepare Yourself Before Entering the Park
The commando mosquitoes in the forest are pretty fierce. Make sure you bring along your insect repellant*. Check out this post for our mosquito repellent recipe.
Keep yourself hydrated while you hike. Bring along a filled water bottle*.
Wear appropriate shoes to minimize slips and falls. For me, a person with slip-disc who needs an extra cushion for walking, I only wear Adidas Ultra Boost*.
Wanna bring your toddler along? Use a baby carrier for the greatest accessibility. Check out my review on Tula, Kol Kol and Ergo.
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